An LGBT-advocacy organization unanimously voted for a new co-chair last week.
At a Jan. 9 meeting, the Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club board elected openly gay Malcolm Kenyatta, 26, to fill the vacancy created by outgoing Co-Chair Tony Campisi. Kenyatta and Co-Chair Anne Wakabayashi will work with the LGBT community to encourage involvement in the Democratic Party.
Wakabayashi said she and the board value Kenyatta as a “young progressive voice.”
“I think Malcolm is a really uniquely driven guy,” Wakabayashi said. “I think he has a lot of really great ideas about where he wants to take Liberty City. I think his voice is really valuable and he has distinguished himself, not just in the LGBT community but also in the Philadelphia community, as an advocate for all things Philadelphia and all things LGBT equality.”
In addition to Liberty City, Kenyatta also serves on the boards of Equality Pennsylvania, Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse and the Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women. Additionally, he was the former campaign manager for Sherrie Cohen, the first openly gay City Council candidate endorsed by the Philadelphia Democratic Party.
Kenyatta said his grandfather, civil-rights leader Muhammad Kenyatta, inspired him to get involved with political actions.
“I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t interested in finding ways to get engaged,” he said.
Kenyatta noted the “many fronts where [president-elect Donald] Trump and Republicans are going to be coming after” the LGBT community.
“You can’t get weary. You can’t get tired. You can’t give up. You can’t say, ‘I’m tired of hearing it. I’m tired of watching what’s happening,’” he said. “We have to be actively engaged in this every single step of the way. We have to call them out on the carpet for every single atrocity.”
Kenyatta urged others to call elected officials and “go back to grassroots organizing.”
“We want everybody at the table and every part of this organization to make sure that we’re pushing together,” he said. “The work that we do, we’re going to have to take it into hyper drive.”
The new co-chair would also like to engage new membership within the organization. At the next meeting, on Feb. 6, the club will discuss challenges for the LGBT community and how to forge a path forward.
“We’re going to say, ‘If you care about affecting the progress we’ve made and if you care about building on the issues that we still have and if you care about securing the future, we want you to apply to this board,’” Kenyatta said. “‘We want you to be a part of what we’re doing.’”